Wire grip



Aug. 25, 1953 H. C. RIPLEY ET AL WIRE GRIP Filed Oct. 13, 1949 a' Zy, j-ms fa/a.

Patented Aug. 25, 1953 WIRE GRIP .HaroldC..Ripley and James J. Saul, Chicago,.-Ill.,

assignors to Reliable -Electric l Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of VIllinois kApplication"October 13, 1949, Serial No. 121,158

f1 Claim. 1

This invention relates'to va wire gripof the tapered shell and jaw type.

Most wire grips of this type, such as are commonly used in wire splicers and dead end connectors, depend primarily upon substantial wire tension for maintaining the connection between the wire and the jaws. However, experience has shown that oftentimes grips of this character are carelessly applied, or tension in the wire varies widely from time to time, with the result that the wire occasionally becomes separated from the grip. Furthermore, such a grip is not suitable for wire not under tension.

Accordingly, the object of the invention is to provide a wire grip wherein the gripping force between the wire and the grip is substantially independent of tension on the wire. With such a grip, the lineman is not required to sag in the wire with the same degree of care as is necessary with prior devices. y

W'hile our improved grip is illustrated and described as forming part of a wire splicer, the invention is applicable to other wire gripping devices, such as dead end connectors and the like.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as the description proceeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawing wherein one form of the invention is shown. It is to be understood that the description and drawing are illustrative only, and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claim.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of a wire splicer embodying our improved wire grip;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4--4 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, the illustrated wire splicer has two half portions that are substantially symmetrical. Accordingly, the left hand half only will be described in detail.

The wire grip portion at the left hand end of the splicer comprises a tubular shell 6 having a tapering end portion 1 and an adjacent portion 8 having a non-tapering exterior.

A plurality of wire gripping jaws I are disposed within tapering end portion 1, and the jaw exteriors have a taper for cooperation with the interior surface of portion 1. Referring to Fig. 1, the farther jaws I0 are moved to the left, the smaller is the diameter of the composite jaws. Thus wires of various sizes may be accommodated.

'I'he interior ends of jaws I0 are interconnected (Cl.l 287-) 7wilma-each other Y `in zany ysuitable -..fmanner, such -as s iby z member 1I 3 so :as to permit the aws l to move radially. Member I3 also insures uniform circumferential jaw spacing and uniform longitudinal jawv movement.

The construction above described is shown more fully in U. S. Patent No. 2,138,913 to W. G. Fotsch.

Our specific improvement resides in the provision of mechanical means for forcing jaws I0 into tapering end portion 'I so that the jaws securely grip an inserted wire I5 regardless of initial or later tension on the wire. To this end we provide one or more longitudinal slots I6 in portion 8 of shell 6. In the grip illustrated, there are two oppositely disposed slots I6.

A bearing member is provided within the shell adjacent jaws I0. As here shown, the bearing member comprises a circular disk I8 and a transverse pin I9. Disk I8 bears against the ends of jaws I0, and pin I9 bears against the disk. Pin I9 has projections 20 that extend through slots I6 to the shell exterior. Projections 26 may be slit, as shown in Fig. 3, and the portions thereby separated may be bent outwardly so that the pin will remain in proper position in the slots.

'I'he exterior of shell portion 8 is threaded substantially throughout its length as shown at 22. A screw means or nut 23 engages threads 22 and upon rotation is movable longitudinally of the shell.

As previously mentioned, the right hand end of the splicer is the substantial duplicate of the left hand end.

A resilient means such as compressed spiral spring 25 may extend longitudinally of the shell interior between the pins I9 of the left and right ends. This spring maintains the various parts of the splicer in desired position when the splicer is not in use, and it also applies an initial wire gripping force when wire I5 is inserted in jaws I0.

In applying our improved grip to a wire, screw means 23 is moved to the right so as to be substantially clear of slots I6. When wire I5 is inserted in the grip, the jaws recede within tapering portion I a distance sufficient to expand the jaws to permit the wire to pass through the jaws and reach member I3. Spiral spring 25 thereupon acts to move jaws I0 in the opposite direction to produce an initial gripping action between the jaws and wire I5. Screw means 23 is then rotated so it is moved into engagement with projections 20 of pin I9. Further rotation of the screw means causes pin I9 to force jaws I0 farther into tapering end portion 1, thereby increasing the gripping force between the jaws and Wire l5 to a desired value.

The gripping force thus provided is sufficient to insure that the connection between the wire and the grip will not be broken regardless of whether or not the wire is under tension, or whether the tension varies from time to time.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and advantages of our invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Various changes and modications may be made without departing from the spirit or losing the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described our invention. what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A wire grip comprising a tubular shell having a tapering end portion and an adjacent portion having a non-tapering exterior, individual Wire gripping jaws in said tapering end portion for cooperation therewith, said adjacent portion hav- 4 ing opposed longitudinal slots, a bearing member Within said shell and having a face adapted to engage the inner ends of said jaws, a pin extending transversely through said shell inwardly of said bearing member, the ends of said pin extending through said opposed slots and being enlarged exterior of said shell, and screw means threaded on the exterior of said adjacent portion for cooperation with the ends of said pin.

HAROLD C. RIPLEY. JAMES J. SAUL.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,379,165 Burns May 24, 1921 1,398,304 Parmenter Nov, 29, 1921 2,128,112 Barlow Aug. 23, 1938 20 2,158,892 Becker May 16, 1939 2,161,694 Becker June 6, 1939 

